Sandpelt's Burden
by SandpeltStories
Summary: Sandpelt is a warrior of ThunderClan, the best clan in the forest! But when unexpected events have her questioning her clanmates, questioning herself, and questioning the warrior code, can she trust StarClan to help through the hard times?
1. Chapter 1

Sandkit sat perched at the end of her nest, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she gazed at the ginger fur just beyond the lichen, keeping her tail still and her claws sheathed, she began to creep forward. Her fur spiked with excitement and her tail began to twitch slightly before she stilled it, continuing her silent stalk. Sandkit paused a mouse-length away from the entrance, bunching her haunches before letting out a caterwaul and launching herself at the ginger warrior standing just outside, bowling him over. She heard a surprised grunt from him as she unsheathed her claws and dug them into his thick pelt, clinging to him like a burr. "Trespasser!" she hissed, trying to sound strong and confident, "What are you doing on ThunderClan's territory?" The ginger warrior let out a purr as he gently shook himself, shaking Sandkit off of him, "Now Sandkit, you know you're not meant to be outside of the nursery while we reinforce the camp," he mewed strictly, though his amber eyes were warm. "we need to make sure the camp is strong and able to withstand the winds." Sandkit sighed, though she knew Brackenclaw was right, she hated being confined to the nursery, even though it was for her safety. Her ear twitched in irritation, and she clawed the ground in frustration, her tail lashing back in forth, "But I'm bored! It's been days without the strong gusts of wind!" She could hear the whine in her voice, but she didn't care, she had been in the nursery for far too long and was aching to stretch her legs and escape the stuffy nursery. Brackenclaw gave her a sympathetic look, leaning in to give her a lick between the ears, "I know it's hard to be stuck in the nursery, but Seedstar wants to make sure the wind is calm for good before he allows kits and elders back outside." When that didn't soothe his daughter's frustrations, he sharply yet calmly reminded her of what had occurred a few sunrises ago, "Remember what happened to Rainkit?" Sandkit felt her ears grow hot, and she dropped her green gaze, flattening her ears in regret as she stilled. "It's not my fault Rainkit didn't dig his claws into the ground." she grumbled, remembering with a sharp pang of grief as she watched as Rainkit was thrown off his paws across the camp, the pale ginger she-cat had been unable to run to his aid, struggling to keep her own paws rooted to the ground. It was only when their mother, Cloudsplash, had run outside looking for her kits was Rainkit taken to the medicine cat den. Thankfully he only had minor scratches and a sprained tail, but Cloudsplash had been furious with the pair of them, confining Sandkit to the nursery and Rainkit to the medicine cat den to avoid the two of them causing any more problems. Brackenclaw's ear twitched slightly, and he gave Sandkit a gentle nudge, breaking her out of the memories, "Cloudsplash is coming," he hissed under his breath, "if she catches you outside she'll tear my whiskers off and confine you to the nursery for the next moon." Sandkit quickly backed into the cover of the nursery, bumping into Willowkit on her way back to her own nest, she spun around, her fur bristling slightly. "Willowkit!" The dark gray she-cat gazed at her, curiosity and amusement brimming in his soft blue eyes, she let out a purr and leaned in close to Sandkit as Cloudsplash entered the nursery, "Don't worry," she mewed quietly, "I won't tell Cloudsplash you went outside." Sandkit blinked gratefully at her older denmate, Willowkit and her kin, Sootkit and Icekit, were two moons older than her and Rainkit. And as the only she-cats amongst the kits, the two had grown close, forming a strong bond, they looked out for each other, Willowkit had been there to comfort her when Rainkit was hurt. Icekit hopped out of the nest, stretching and padding to join his sister, giving the two she-cats a curious look, "Who put burrs in your nest, Sandkit?" Sandkit's ear twitched, "Still confined to the nursery, unless you've forgotten, and Rainkit is still in the medicine cat's den," she felt a twinge of annoyance as Icekit's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Oh right," he mewed, his voice light and teasing, "Well, I'm going out for some fresh-kill, I'll bring you back something." He meowed to Sootkit, who was starting to finally stir, his brother gave a huge yawn, getting up and stretching each leg in turn, shaking his pelt. "Better come with you," he eyed the two she-cats, "but let's bring something back for Willowkit and Sandkit, if there's anything left that is." Willowkit rolled her eyes, but Sandkit was nearly ready to claw the two tom's ears, she was sick of of their relentless teasing, always bragging about being outside and how great it was. She was about to retort when Willowkit slapped her tail across Sandkit's mouth, gesturing towards Cloudsplash's sleeping form and giving her a warning glance, she bristled slightly but kept her mouth clamped tightly shut, glaring at the two of them as they padded out of the den. Sootkit lightly flicked his tail over Sandkit's muzzle as he passed her, gaining an annoyed hiss from her, she snorted and stomped to her nest, curling up against Cloudsplash and burying her nose into her paws, gazing longingly at the entrance, a pang of loneliness and sadness hitting her as strong as the wind itself. Sandkit's ears twitched as the wind blew outside, but something was different, wrong, it felt stronger somehow, she crept the entrance and was nearly blown away. Her eyes widened with shock, the wind had picked up after so many days of light breezes, a wail full of fear and panic cut through the clearing and Sandkit remembered with a jolt that her denmates were still outside. She stuck her head outside and screwed up her eyes to the harsh winds, her stomach dropped as she saw what was unfolding in front of her, Sootkit was desperately diggin his claws into the ground, sticking low to it and trying the hang on to Icekit's tail. Her heart stopped as Sootkit lost his grip on Icekit's tail, watching as the young tom was thrown around like a piece of moss, her mind flashed as Rainkit came to mind, she wasn't going to let Willowkit and Sootkit suffer the way she had. Her eyes narrowed and she tried to still her racing heart, bunching up her muscles and getting ready to run into the clearing. _I have to help Icekit!_


	2. Chapter 2

Sandkit dug her claws into the ground and launched herself out into the clearing, getting knocked off her paws instantly and rolling across it. She struggled to find her footing and stay low to the ground, flattening her ears against the deafening wind as she ran towards Sootkit. "Sandkit!" She heard someone mew to her, she turned her head and saw Brackenclaw standing over her, even her father had his fur billowing in the wind, sheltering her and Sootkit. She nudged the shocked kit towards her father and meowed a quick, "I gotta get Icekit!" Before dashing from between his legs in search of her den mate, her father called something out to her, but she couldn't hear it over the roar of the wind. Leaves and twigs had already littered the floor of the Thunderclan camp, making it hard to see and sniff out the young tom, finally she heard the faintest of mews from behind a branch. Sandkit leaped over it and tackled Icekit to the ground, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and dragging him to the wall behind the warriors den, keeping them low to the ground as they hid from the worst of the wind. He was too dazed to say anything, his eyes glossed over with terror as he shivered next to her, Sandkit felt pity pierce her heart, and she pressed herself against him in an attempt to warm and comfort him. It felt like a moon before the wind finally died down, Sandkit slowly moved and crawled out from behind her hiding spot, her eyes wide in dismay at the debris scattered across the clearing. _All that hard work for nothing!_ She thought, the warriors were going to have to start all over again, she felt a prickle of annoyance at the inconvenience, _Starclan are not making this newleaf easy._ Warriors and elders were slowly creeping from their dens, looking around cautiously, Sandkit spotted a flash of gray and white as Cloudsplash bounded across the clearing to furiously lick the ears and face of her kit, purring loudly. Sandkit suddenly felt exhausted and leaned into her, enjoying the warmth of her mother. "Don't you ever jump into a storm ever again!" Cloudsplash hissed, wrapping her tail tightly around her, her green eyes blazing with fear and anger.

Before Sandkit could respond Seedstar and Barkfur burst into the clearing, Fallowtail followed more slowly, with Specklenose limping against her, the white and brown-speckled tom looked disgruntled, he grimaced in pain as she helped him into the center of the camp. Brackenclaw bounded over and faced his leader, eyes full of worry, "What happened?" Seedstar's tail lashed in frustration, glancing around the clearing as the clan huddled close in groups, "The wind knocked branches out of the trees, and one fell on Specklenose's paw," He looked over at Bushfur and Mousewhisker, shaking his head with a sigh, "you did all this work for nothing." He muttered, his long brown tail drooping, Fallowtail laid her tail across her leader's back comfortingly. "It can be redone, and much stronger this time." She meowed gently, looking towards Bushfur and Mousewhisker, who both gave her nods of agreement, their tails twitching as if they itched to get back to rebuilding the camp. Nightwing bounded out of the medicine cat's den, gently nosing Specklenose's paw before making her way back to her den and emerging with a mouthful of herbs, she was focused intently on wrapping his paw up as carefully as she could, when she had finished she looked up and glanced over the other members of the group who had just come in. "You all look fine, but I'll need to check you all as well just to be sure no pieces of twig or root got into your fur." She mewed as Willowkit rushed over, Sootkit staggering behind her, still dazed, Fallowtail stiffened and was at his side in a moment, Nightwing following close behind. "What happened?" Nightwing said quickly as she sniffed him over, "He was getting prey with Icekit, and then the wind started." Willowkit said, pressing against Fallowtail and trembling, her tail bushed up from the buzz of the camp. At the mention of her den mate, Sandkit stiffened, her ears perking up. _Icekit!_ How could she have forgotten? She jumped up and was about to run to get him, when he emerged from behind the warriors den, eyes wide as he stumbled into the clearing, Nightwing immediately got up and picked him up, bringing him to Sootkit and gently laying him next to his brother, checking to see if either were hurt.

"Well?" Said Fallowtail, her tail tightening around Willowkit, who was peeking over her tail anxiously, Nightwing straightened and sighed with relief, turning to face her. "They're fine, just shocked, I'll get them some thyme, it'll help them calm down and you can take them to the nursery to sleep." She turned in the direction of the medicine den as Fallowtail and Bushfur eased their kits with licks and soft purrs, Sandkit made her way to Willowkit's side, her den mate looked at her, gratitude glistening in her eyes. "Thanks for risking your tail to help him," she murmured quietly, watching as Nightwing laid a few small thyme leaves next to her brothers to chew, the two seemed to relax as they chewed and drift off under the encouraging licks of Fallowtail, "I don't know what I'd do without either one of those mouse-brains." Sandkit nodded, she wouldn't know what she would do without Rainkit, her heart ached and she glanced towards the medicine den, she saw his amber eyes beyond the lichen and the ache in her heart grew, she hoped he'd return to the nursery soon, her nest felt lonely even with Cloudsplash there.

* * *

Two moons had passed since the last storm, the camp had been reinforced and would now withstand the wind, though the wind showed no signs of returning. Rainkit had returned to the nursery the previous moon and had been tackled by Sandkit, overjoyed with having her brother back. They'd made sure to be on their best behavior and not get in the way of the warriors as they worked, Cloudsplash and Nightwing were keeping an eye on them all, as Rainkit was still experiencing some pain in his tail from time to time, Icekit and Sootkit stopped teasing Sandkit as often. As whenever they did Willowkit would loudly remind them that Sandkit had rushed in to save them from the wind, they'd scuffle away after that, with Sandkit blinking gratefully at her older den mate, Willowkit had been like the older sister she didn't have and was grateful to have her around. One warm greenleaf morning, Sandkit was roused by a call from Seedstar, "Let all cats young and old gather for a clan meeting!" She blinked the sleep from her eyes and stretched, noticing that Rainkit and Cloudsplash were already gone, as well as Icekit, Willowkit, and Sootkit. She hopped out of her nest and pushed her way into the clearing, spotting her brother sitting near Leafpaw and Swiftpaw, she made her way over to them and noticed they were deep in conversation. "What are you guys talking about?" Sandkit asked as she got closer, Leafpaw looked up, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "Wondering who the new apprentices' mentors will be," she turned her head towards Swiftpaw, her whiskers twitching with amusement, "someone is getting their tail in a knot over the fact one of them will probably get Specklenose when he didn't." She said teasingly. Sandkit turned her head and saw the three kits, well groomed and sitting next to their parents, all of them looked proud, she had forgotten they had reached their sixth moon. Swiftpaw huffing snapped her out of her thoughts, he turned his yellow eyes towards Leafpaw, his tail whipping around in annoyance, "Seedstar _is_ my dad, I should have gotten the deputy as my mentor, instead he gave me Mousewhisker!" The young tom complained, his shoulders slumping as he pouted, Leafpaw shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Just because your dad is the leader, doesn't mean you get special treatment." She meowed, flicking her tail under his nose, a softer but more stern voice spoke from behind the group, "Besides, Mousewhisker is a wonderful mentor, he taught Specklenose everything he knows."

They whipped around to see Swiftpaw's mother, Honeyfoot, standing behind them, her amber eyes sparkling with amusement at the look on Swiftpaw's face, "Now, pay attention, the ceremony is starting." All the young cats turned their attention to Seedstar as he padded to the top of the Highrock, he seemed so powerful and proud, his head held high. "Clanmates, I'm proud to say that three of our younger members have reached their sixth moon and are now ready to start their warrior training." He turned his attention to Icekit, Sootkit, and Willowkit, who all looked ready to burst with excitement and nervousness, Seedstar jumped from the Highrock and beckoned Sootkit with his tail, the young dark gray tom made his way to his leader and stared at him with wide eyes. "From this moment on, until you've earned your warrior name, you shall be known as Sootpaw. Your mentor will be Brackenclaw, may he pass down his wit and speed to you." Sootpaw turned his head towards the massive brown tom as he approached, trembling slightly as he touched his nose to his, Sandkit saw her father murmur something quietly to the young tom, but was too far to hear what he said. The two went off to the side as Seedstar beckoned Icekit, the white tom stood in front of his leader, determination brimming in his eyes as Seedstar spoke, "From this moment on until you've earned your warrior name, you will be known as Icepaw," he looked up and locked eyes with Barkfang, a fairly new warrior, "Barkfang, this will be your first apprentice, but Bushfur taught you well, I hope you'll pass down that strength and skill to his son." Barkfang padded up and touched his nose to Icepaw's, a silent understanding to both do their best passed between them as they joined Brackenclaw and Sootpaw, Willowkit waited patiently as Seedstar turned his attention to her, beckoning her to him at last. She walked calmly to her leader, her head and tail held high, "And finally, Willowkit. Specklenose, you've trained fine warriors before, and I've seen your skill over and over since we were apprentices, train Willowpaw to be the best warrior she can be." Specklenose nodded and padded up to touch noses gingerly with Willowpaw, her tail curled in silent joy, Sandkit heard Swiftpaw huff and Leafpaw hiss at him, she watched her former den mates with pride as the clan cheered for them, "Willowpaw! Icepaw! Sootpaw!" She and Rainkit joined in loudly, chasing after Leafpaw as she made her way to the newest apprentices, Swiftpaw following with a slight sulk, Icepaw was circling his mentor, talking excitedly "What's first?" he asked, Sootpaw was bouncing around a bit, "Are we gonna practice battle moves?" He chimed in, Willowpaw listened quietly, but when she noticed Leafpaw, Swiftpaw, and Sandkit and Rainkit she jumped up and touched her nose to her new den mates' noses, purring a bit.

"You can sleep next to me." Leafpaw whispered, Willowpaw nodded and turned her attention to Sandkit and Rainkit, touching her nose to theirs as well, "I'm gonna miss you," Sandkit mewed, "you made games more fun." Rainkit nosed her side comfortingly, "Hey, chin up, we're going to be apprentices soon enough." Icepaw looked over and pushed his way between Rainkit and Sandkit, "You'll have a lot of catching up to do, we'll be loads ahead of you by the time you learn how to catch a mouse," he meowed loudly, Sandkit felt annoyance prickle through her, and her ear twitched, "Don't forget I saved your fur two moons ago, Icepaw, you couldn't even move." She said hotly, Icepaw's eyes narrowed, and his ears slicked back, but before he could respond Barkfang cut in and nudged him towards the camp entrance, "Come on, we have a lot to do, we're touring the territory." Specklenose followed behind, brushing past Willowpaw and Leafpaw, "Come on, Willowpaw, we're going too." Willowpaw meowed a quick farewell to Sandkit and Rainkit before following after her mentor, Sootpaw looked at Brackenclaw hopefully, "Are we going too?" Brackenclaw shook his head, "You're going to help Swiftpaw clean the elders den and nursery, I'm going hunting with Leafpaw, Thrushsong, and Mousewhisker." Sootpaw looked disheartened, but he shook himself and turned to Swiftpaw, who was looking more and more sour, his tail twitching with obvious annoyance, he turned sharply and stalked towards the medicine den for moss, Sootpaw hesitated, glancing at his mentor who flicked his tail to follow him, he shrugged and gave Sandkit and Rainkit a cheery wave of his tail before running after Swiftpaw. Brackenclaw got up and looked at Leafpaw, "We better get going, looks like Thrushsong and Mousewhisker are ready," he gestured to the light brown she-cat with white paws and the gray and white tom standing at the entrance to the camp waiting for them. "Besides, Thornpelt said he wants to do battle training before it gets too late, and you know how he hates waiting, and letting us take his apprentice without him too." Leafpaw nodded and turned to Sandkit and Rainkit, "I'll see you guys later." She said as she bounded away, Brackenclaw following her, Sandkit watched her father leave, he was going to be more busy and unable to spend as much time with her now that he had an apprentice. She felt a twinge of jealousy, Sootpaw would get to spend more time with her father than she would, she tried to push the jealousy away, she'd get to be an apprentice soon, and then she could patrol with her father and former den mates. She turned to Rainkit, who was looking at her, as if he shared the same thought. She turned back to stare at the patrol leaving, holding her head up high with determination. _Look out, Thunderclan, I'm going to be the best warrior yet!_


End file.
